Japan

Tomen spins off wind business

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Japanese trading company and wind developer Tomen Corp plans to spin off its wind power generation business to form a separate company with the aim of investing ´40 million to increase its wind plant portfolio to 2000 MW by 2006. It is seeking outside investors for up to 50% of the share capital by March 2002.

One name mentioned has been the Japanese trading house Toyota Tsusho Corp, one of the biggest share holders in Tomen. Tomen Corp plans to list the company on the stock exchange sometime in the future. The new wind company, Tomen Power Holdings Corp, has been valued at ´300 million with Tomen's managing director, Yoshimasa Kondo, being appointed president.

Tomen is a major player in the American and European wind markets, with interests in about 5% of the world's wind power generation. The company is otherwise involved in the gas, oil, coal, and geothermal sectors with interests in a combined operating capacity of 8000 MW. Its roles in power production are varied, ranging from construction company to turnkey contractor to financier.

The company is currently behind 368 MW of wind plant development in England, Italy and Portugal, either operating or being built and Spain is expected to become a significant market. Elsewhere in Europe, Tomen is studying the potential in Greece and Turkey. The company, which has so far been financially involved in projects using wind turbines from Mitsubishi, Bonus and Vestas, reported in 1999 that it had interests in a combined capacity of 565 MW in Japan, Europe and the USA.